New Poll – Americans Want Government Involved In Health Care

Big change from just a few years ago

There has been a dynamic change in the way that Americans feel about government involvement in health care.

According to Vox, ‘…the percentage of Americans who think the government has an obligation to ensure coverage to all citizens has risen from 42 percent in 2013 to 60 percent in 2017.’

That is a huge difference in opinion in a very short time. Clearly, the repeated votes and the attending press surrounding the repeal of Obamacare have focused American’s attention on the subject in a way that provided personal context.

Two underlying public values were particularly important here: support for universal coverage and the preferred role for the federal government in health care. When it came to the question of whether the federal government should ensure that all Americans have health care coverage, 6 in 10 respondents (60%) said that it should be the responsibility of the federal government. More than 8 in 10 Democrats (85%) believed this should be the responsibility of the federal government, whereas only 30% of Republicans agreed.

As more Americans expect the government to participate in providing insurance it may very well lead to an increased probability of universal coverage for all Americans.